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News

Here’s How Porsche’s Synthetic Fuel Could Be A Gamechanger In The Auto Industry

In 2022, Porsche introduced it was investing $75 million in a Chilean eFuel company. Efuels, or fuels comprised of renewable sources, are available in a couple of totally different kinds and differ from e-kerosene to e-methanol. The latter is already enjoying a key half in lowering carbon emissions within the transport container business. In 2021, Yale Climate Connections reported that the transport business accounted for roughly three % of the world’s carbon emissions — surpassing the main emissions perpetrator: airline journey. But, what Porsche goals to drag off is changing gasoline with eFuels to assist decarbonize the auto business.

The German producer’s funding will assist the corporate obtain its 2030 sustainability technique and will safeguard Porsche’s motorsports pursuits in anticipation of future strict gas laws. While the exploration into artificial fuels advantages the corporate particularly, it additionally has the potential to shake up all the auto business with out threatening electrical automobile progress.

Lamborghini Estoque Sedan Front View

Related

10 Reasons Why Synthetic Fuels (E-fuels) Are The Future

The race to seek out the ability supply of the longer term is on and artificial fels may very well be one in all them, however how possible are they actually?

In order to provide the latest and correct info doable, the info used to compile this text was sourced from numerous producer web sites and different authoritative sources, together with Porsche, Car and Driver, and Car Magazine.

Porsche Is Leading The Auto Industry In Developing Synthetic Fuels

Although Porsche goals for over 80 % of its new automobile fleet to be categorized as electric vehicles by the end of the decade, Porsche realizes nearly all of the corporate’s automobiles on the highway at present are gas-powered. The automaker plans to start with a focus on its most iconic car, the Porsche 911, in response to Car and Driver, and put eFuel on the market for sale by 2030, a Porsche consultant advised Car Magazine.

Porsche Is Committed

Porsche might not seem to be the plain selection. Why not a start-up? However, in response to Tatler, sustainability “isn’t just a destination for Porsche, it’s a holistic commitment.” So, focusing on a future fleet of all-electric vehicles like nearly all of the auto business does not appear to chop it for Porsche. Rather, the company hopes to create a clean energy solution for its automobiles nonetheless on the highway immediately — over 700,000 of those cars being 911s, in response to Road and Track.

Along with highway automobiles, Porsche is monitoring the alternatives for sustainable fuels on monitor as properly. The producer’s funding might imply huge issues for its racing groups. Although the corporate is already involved in electric motorsports series, together with Formula E, it goals to look into different gas choices for gas-powered and hybrid sports activities automobiles as properly.

Porsche isn’t the only one looking at eFuels. The president of IMSA advised The Detroit News in October that “the next step in fuel. Our fuel partner, VP, is currently providing us with 80 percent renewable fuel made from plant waste. But in the future, 100 percent renewable fuel could be in our playbook.” Additionally, Shell examined 100% renewable gas within the NTT IndyCar Series final February and can gas the sequence’ automobiles sooner or later.

“With the debut of the new fuel developed by Shell, the NTT IndyCar Series becomes the first United States-based motorsports series to power racing with 100 percent renewable race fuel that enables at least 60 percent of greenhouse gas emissions reduction compared to fossil-based gasoline,” the sequence announced.

What Porsche Has Done So Far

Porsche 911 e-fuel
Porsche

Porsche stated that the eFuels program will first concentrate on petrol engines by creating methanol via splitting a hydrogen cell and capturing carbon dioxide in the air. The two react and are then was a petroleum substance. While testing has solely simply begun, Porsche goals to inject eFuels into its present gas-powered automobiles within the coming years.

The mission is the primary of its variety in scale and scope, together with being the “world’s first integrated, large-scale commercial plant to manufacture synthetic, carbon-neutral fuels.” The power plant will use Chile’s wind and solar energy to gas the creation of eFuels.

Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS

Related

Here’s Why E-Fuels or Synthetic Fuels Won’t Kill Electric Cars

As a lot as a few of us prefer to assume driving ICE automobiles will likely be a viable choice sooner or later, analysis says in any other case

eFuels Offer Energy Companies An Entry Into The Climate Conversation

Porsche e-Fuel
Porsche AG

Several Big Oil and power large executives attended the United Nations’ COP28 annual local weather summit at first of December in Dubai. One of the numerous firm leaders in attendance was Darren Woods, the CEO of ExxonMobil, who sat in on the convention for the primary time, in response to Bloomberg. While Woods confronted backlash after advocating for a “reduction” terminology within the local weather dialog slightly than totally phasing out non-renewable power sources, the corporate is investing in different gas sources.

The Companies Behind Porsche’s eFuels Project Include Big Energy Giants

ExxonMobil is one in all seven corporations included in Porsche’s Haru Oni mission to analysis and check sustainable fuels in Chile. The different corporations embody Enel, Siemens Energy, and energy providers local to Chile including Gasco, ENAP, and AME, in response to Porsche.

The resolution to put money into Chile was closely influenced by low power prices and taxes, together with a better quantity of wind turbine energy. Chile additionally goals to be the highest producer of the most affordable inexperienced hydrogen.

Porsche Leans On The Cost Argument

Porsche Synthetic Fuel
Porsche

The resolution to put money into Chile was closely influenced by low power prices and taxes, together with a better quantity of wind turbine energy. As Porsche stated in a press launch, “The low cost of energy for manufacturing eFuels in Chile is not the only important factor: taxes and charges will also have an impact on the price, and therefore the financial success, of the product.”

The firm went on to say “eFuels will become competitive faster as fossil fuels become more expensive in the years ahead due to regulatory measures such as energy taxes and carbon pricing, as well as measures that make eFuels exempt from such charges.”

Fossil fuels are usually not simply set to turn into costly for shoppers, but additionally for power suppliers. While the Inflation Reduction Act put cash within the arms of utility corporations to put money into renewable sources, power corporations are nonetheless spending extra money to supply power unsustainably. A coverage and know-how firm, Energy Innovation, launched a report stating that almost the entire present coal-powered power processes within the United States would be cheaper if they were instead run by renewable energy sources.

Related

BMW Pins Its Future To Electricity, Synthetic Fuels Not Ruled Out Yet

BMW is the newest producer to map out its electrical future

Synthetic Fuels Are One Piece Of The Sustainable Puzzle

Porsche eFuel Plant
Porsche

Nowadays, it appears that evidently each different firm is saying a deadline to chop carbon emissions. But what does that appear to be, and the way are these corporations really being held to that timeframe? Earlier this 12 months, the Sierra Club revealed a examine arguing that utilities and companies that have specific timelines, even ones with dates reaching 25-plus years into the longer term, are unlikely to achieve these benchmarks.

Why? Simply put, the businesses aren’t appearing shortly sufficient to realize these targets realistically, stated Sierra. Part of the issue is a scarcity of a non-renewable transition technique. Another a part of the issue is a “one and done” or “all or nothing” method. Rather than photo voltaic or wind being the only real power supply, renewables could be seen as a spectrum or assortment of power sources that may work collectively with the intention to meet world power wants.

The improvement and testing of eFuels, though not totally carbon-neutral, matches into that spectrum.

How Porsche Plans For A Complementary Fuel To Electrification

Porsche 911 e-Fuel
Porsche

Porsche stated that the change to electric mobility isn’t happening at a rate quick enough to fulfill the outlines of the Paris Agreement, the worldwide and legally binding United Nations local weather motion treaty. Although photo voltaic, wind, and different renewable power sources are rising and large contributors to lowering carbon emissions within the electrical energy and gas sectors, the entire change to inexperienced power will likely be tough with no mixture of a number of sources. Sustainable inexperienced fuels, like methanol, supply a further supply of practically carbon-neutral power.

“We urgently need a solution for operating existing fleets of vehicles in a sustainable way,” Michael Steiner, a Porsche Executive Board for Research and Development member, stated. “This aim could be achieved with inexperienced fuels, which are a sensible complement to electric vehicles.”

How Porsche’s Investment Will Alter The Energy Sector

The funding in inexperienced fuels is not simply set to alter the auto business, however the power business as an entire. As utilities and oil corporations are slammed with criticism and accusations of “greenwashing” following the worldwide local weather summit, Porsche is making an attempt to make the transition away from fossil fuels smoother by testing and promoting the closest factor to gasoline: a liquid substance that acts just like fuel and is easier to move in comparison with gaseous hydrogen.

Motorsport

Honda’s 2.6 Million-Vehicle Fuel Pump Recall Is The Year’s Largest

A gasoline pump recall issued on Thursday impacts roughly 2.6 million Acura and Honda fashions from the 2017 via 2020 mannequin years within the United States.

Honda has found the gasoline pump impeller in a big handful of its automobiles will not be molded accurately. This could cause the piece to deform and intervene with the gasoline pump physique, which might trigger the piece to cease working. The engine would then be starved of gasoline and cease working. Honda has no studies of crashes or accidents from this drawback. The repair entails changing all the pump. 

Because of the scale of the recall, Honda says it would not have sufficient alternative gasoline pumps to repair all the affected automobiles directly. So the corporate is notifying homeowners in phases. The first letters to homeowners exit in early February, and extra bulletins come out because the automaker has new components out there.

A Honda spokesperson informed Motor1 that changing the gasoline pump takes two to a few hours, however the time varies relying on the car. “It’s too early in the process for [Honda] to provide an accurate time frame when sufficient parts will be available for all affected models, but we’re working to improve supply as quickly as possible,” the spokesperson mentioned.

Owners who do not wish to watch for the mailed notification can see if this recall impacts their car by checking the car identification quantity (VIN) at Acura, Honda, or by calling (888) 234-2138. You may go to the NHTSA’s website and search by mannequin or VIN. A full checklist of automobiles affected may be seen under.

This is the largest single recall by an automaker in 2023. It surpasses Tesla’s current marketing campaign, affecting simply over 2 million automobiles to update the Autopilot software so as to add extra controls and alerts in an effort to make the system safer.

These automobiles are affected:

Motorsport

Peugeot Used Game Boys For Vehicle Diagnostics And Tuning In The Early 2000s

Nintendo sold 118.69 million examples of the Game Boy and Game Boy Color and 81.51 million items of the Game Boy Advance, making them a few of the hottest items of gaming {hardware} on the planet. Today, I realized one thing about these handhelds that I by no means knew. In the 2000s, a particular cart allowed these methods to perform as diagnostic instruments for sure Aprilia, Peugeot, and Suzuki scooters.

The gear included a Game Boy Color or Game Boy Advance (relying on the 12 months) with a cartridge with a wire popping out of it and a pair of cables. One of them connected to the engine management unit, and the opposite routed to the brake system.

With all the things connected, the hand-held gaming system grew to become a totally purposeful diagnostic instrument. The video above reveals the engine pace, throttle place, and temperature capabilities. The system might additionally learn and clear fault codes. Technicians might activate actuators to be sure that issues just like the ignition, injectors, and pumps have been working electronically and mechanically.

Beyond diagnosing issues, the instrument additionally might replace the scooters’ ECU. For instance, the shop manual for this cart reveals switching between Standard and Racing tunes for a 50cc engine.

 

Orbital developed these carts and provided a web-based replace instrument for enhancing them. Thus, it was potential to obtain new variations and cargo them from a cable connecting the Game Boy and a PC.

Though it would sound unusual, utilizing a Game Boy Color or Advance as a platform for a diagnostic instrument looks like a incredible concept. The solely factor distinctive about this setup was the cart. So, a technician might use any handheld out there. They have been cheap and available, so discovering one was straightforward.

These days, fans are prepared to pay a premium for Oribital’s scooter diagnostic carts. Game Boy followers need them to finish collections, whereas Aprilia, Peugeot, and Suzuki scooter homeowners hunt for them to work on their bikes. They aren’t interchangeable between fashions, that means these homeowners have to search out the suitable one for his or her mannequin, driving costs up.

Someone on a Game Boy forum requested $3,000 for an entire in-case Peugeot model. A 2007 publish on an Aprilia discussion board confirmed someone paying 400 euros for one. Some of us even made their very own cables for the system. The video under reveals off the Aprilia and Suzuki variations of the cart.

So along with taking part in your favourite Pokémon video games, simply know Game Boys have additionally been used to maintain scooters on the highway. Fascinating. 

News

London earns £8.5m from pavement parking fines in 2023

London councils have earned almost £8.5 million from pavement parking fines in 2023, in keeping with knowledge obtained by Autocar.

A Freedom of Information request uncovered that within the 12 months main as much as November, £8,443,068 was earned by councils in London from penalty cost notices (PCNs) given to drivers who parked on a pavement.

Newham was discovered to be the preferred borough for such infractions, with greater than 21,000 PCNs issued – almost half of which (45%) have not but been paid. 

Further analysis by Autocar revealed that almost a 3rd of all of the fines issued throughout London throughout that interval hadn’t been paid, with 167,066 issued and 111,495 paid.

Despite this, Newham council nonetheless earned £936,391 from pavement parking fines between January and November 2023.

Fines are handed to drivers discovered to be in breach of parking contravention code 62, which prevents vehicles from being parked with a number of wheels on the pavement. 

The regulation additionally bans parking on footways, on footpaths, in entrance of dropped kerbs or on raised carriageways and is enforced all 12 months spherical.

Last week, this got here into drive in Scotland, with its authorities introducing a regulation that may make offenders pay as much as £100.

Autocar editor Mark Tisshaw mentioned: “Scotland is following London’s lead by clamping down on pavement parking, which might have critical penalties for pedestrians – particularly these with decreased mobility.

“Drivers throughout the nation – in each rural and concrete areas – want to grasp the principles to keep away from being fined.”

In the capital, fines gathered from parking infractions are certain by regulation to be put again into the mayor’s transport technique, which was launched in 2018 and includes an enchancment in public transport and jobs and houses created for London residents. 

The cash will due to this fact be invested in off-street parking, public transport providers and freeway upkeep.

BMW

BMW Championship raises $5.5 million for the Evans Scholars Foundation and is the event of the yr.

+++ Largest ever contribution at a BMW Championship within the Chicago space +++ $50 million raised by the playoff event since 2007 +++ BMW Championship named “PGA TOUR Tournament of the Year” for the fifth time in 2023 +++


Munich/Glenview. The 2023 BMW Championship raised a report complete for the Evans Scholars Foundation of event organiser Western Golf Association. The prestigious golf event held at Olympia Fields Country Club in August of this yr raised $5.5 million to fund full school scholarships for deserving caddies – the most important ever quantity raised for a BMW Championship held within the Chicago space. The BMW Championship has now contributed $50 million to the Foundation since 2007, serving to award full tuition and housing school scholarships to greater than 3,300 caddies throughout that point.

“The BMW Group is much more than an automobile manufacturer. With about 150,000 employees from 110 nations worldwide, we are an integral part of global society, and as such we are also involved away from our offices and factory gates. One of these commitments is our long-standing support of the Evans Scholars Foundation,” mentioned Ilka Horstmeier, Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, Human Resources and Real Estate.

This yr alone, a report 1,130 caddies are enrolled as Evans Scholars at 24 main US universities nationwide. “We are very proud to be able to contribute to a successful future for so many young students through the BMW Championship. These are exactly the kind of initiatives that we as a company promote to create opportunities for young people to reach their full potential,” mentioned Horstmeier, who, through the 2023 BMW Championship, visited the Evans Scholarship House at Northwestern University in Chicago and spoke to Evans Scholars.

Viktor Hovland (NOR) gained the 2023 BMW Championship with a sensational last spherical, firing a course-record 61, in entrance of round 120,000 passionate spectators through the course of the event week. All of them additionally supported the Evans Scholars Foundation – all proceeds from the event are donated to the muse.

“Everyone who came out to watch these incredible players compete played a direct role in helping hard-working young people get to college,” mentioned Vince Pellegrino, WGA Senior Vice President of Tournaments. “We can’t say enough about the passion of the Chicago-area golf fans, as well as the unwavering support of our partners at BMW, Olympia Fields Country Club and the PGA TOUR.”

The BMW Championship was not solely a powerful success for the Evans Scholars Foundation. The penultimate playoff occasion was, together with the WM Phoenix Open, named “PGA TOUR Tournament of the Year”. This is the fifth time after 2008, 2012, 2013 and 2014 that the BMW Championship has obtained this award from an important golf tour on the planet. In specific, the PGA TOUR acknowledged the premium expertise for followers and gamers, in addition to the dedication of title companion BMW, the event organisers, and the volunteers.

The 2023 BMW Championship additionally earned the award within the “Best On-Site Staging” class for the fourth time – a report. This award recognises one of the best total on-site presentation, which incorporates the setup for a lot of constituents corresponding to gamers, caddies, media, competitions and guidelines, volunteers, event operations, safety, first help, and the structural construct out.

Next yr the BMW Championship might be held at Castle Pines Golf Club close to Denver for the primary time, from twentieth to twenty fifth August 2024.

Motorsport

Chevy Turbo Engine Teardown Shows Why Coolant And Oil Should Never Mix

Not all engines are equal with regards to reliability. Some of them can run previous one million miles and others have deadly flaws that make them ticking time bombs. The turbocharged 1.4-liter “LUV” engine from the Chevrolet Cruze and Sonic is a really problematic powerplant. Let this teardown video present you why.

Even earlier than cracking it open, it is clear this engine has a narrative to inform. There’s a sticker on it from a self-service salvage yard and new elements for the consumption, valve cowl, and water pump. This suggests the mill got here out a junked Cruze or Sonic after which acquired some upkeep earlier than going into one other automobile.

Taking the valve cowl off reveals the primary main drawback with this engine. Coolant in some way combined with the oil making a creamy-looking “forbidden milkshake” substance. The water brought on rust to kind on the camshafts and rockers, rendering them no extra helpful than scrap metallic.

While the water pump is new, somebody put in it unsuitable. For some cause, the particular person used two gaskets and used glue to affix it, ruining a superbly good half.

Taking off the cylinder head reveals a hairline crack between one valve and the opening for the spark plug. Oh, and the top is warped. If this had been from a extra unique car, an proprietor may have a machinist repair the problems, however the work would price greater than the piece is price for this engine.

There are much more issues because the teardown continues. There’s plenty of water-contaminated oil within the pan. The piston skirts have numerous put on, and there is matching injury within the cylinders.

Eric from the I Do Cars channel suspects this engine solely ran for a short while with water-contaminated oil. There would have been extra injury if issues had been like this for an extended interval.

Eric would not advocate shopping for a automobile with this turbo 1.4-liter engine as a result of there are such a lot of issues with them. That’s not simply his opinion, both. There are discussion board threads recounting horror tales with this powerplant.

A person on Reddit wrote: “I did preventative maintenance regularly and definitely on schedule. This engine leaks everything eventually so I would not recommend it to anyone. Past owner of 2012 Cruze 1.4. Every weekend was spent changing coolant parts I feel like or changing the valve cover or installing the pcv fix kit.”

A consumer on Cruze Talk wrote: “I am currently at 67k and I have had a water pump and a turbo replaced. I am not confident in the life of the second turbo. I also have the whining manual transmission, so I am hoping by 70k+ I can get it replaced as well. I plan to ditch this Cruze at the end of my extended warranty. Fun car, but I don’t trust it.”

News

£70 million for brand new fast chargers at UK motorway providers

The authorities has introduced a £70 million scheme to stimulate the set up of ultra-rapid electric vehicle chargers at motorway service stations however it’s nonetheless set to overlook its goal of getting six such units at every web site in England by the top of the yr. 

As a part of the Department for Transport’s vision for the rapid charging network in England (printed in May 2020), the federal government deliberate for there to be not less than six high-power-capable, open-access (150-350kW) cost factors at every service station in England by 2023.

Research published by the RAC in May 2023 discovered that the federal government was unlikely to succeed in this goal by the yr’s finish. Data from charger mapping service Zap-Map then confirmed that six areas didn’t have these units: Barton Park on the A1(M), Carlisle Northbound on the M6, Leicester Forest on either side of the M1, Strensham Southbound on the M5 and Tebay South on the M6.

According to Zap-Map, a number of websites nonetheless would not have ultra-rapid chargers, together with Carlisle Southwaite North and Carlisle Southwaite South, Strensham Northbound, and Tebay North.

Each of those websites, nevertheless, does have not less than a 50kW provision. 

The funding introduced at the moment on the COP28 local weather convention might be used to organize {the electrical} community at 5 to 10 service stations for the set up of extra 100kW-plus cost factors.

The authorities has not specified precisely how the £70m, which comes from the £950m Rapid Charging Fund, might be allotted.

Vauxhall Corsa-E charging at Gridserve charger – rear quarter

However, it lately highlighted the provision of grid connections as a key barrier to the ramp-up of charger installations. In the 30-point plan for drivers, printed in October, the federal government mentioned it should “review grid connections process for EV charge points, with [the] aim to accelerate it”.

The public charging trade has additionally repeatedly mentioned the restricted availability of grid connections is a significant impediment to bettering cost level provision. Toddington Harper, CEO of Gridserve, told Autocar in April: “Almost each subject of pace of implementation is right down to the pace of grid connections. I’m not kicking the grid right here: it was designed for a totally totally different objective and adapting it to what we’d like, whereas conserving the lights on, is a big activity.

Motorsport

Feds Fine Toyota $60M For Unfair Lending Practices and False Credit Reports

Toyota Motor Credit Corporation (TMCC), the financing arm of Toyota, has agreed to a $60 million settlement with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). The CFPB accused TMCC of unlawfully preventing consumers from canceling bundled products often included in vehicle purchases and making false reports that negatively impacted buyers’ credit reports.

According to the CFPB, consumers who wanted to cancel unwanted products were directed to internal customer service teams where the process of getting them removed or refunded was unnecessarily difficult. The specific types of products are not specified, but the added costs ranged from $750 to $2,500 per auto loan. In some cases, Toyota dealerships allegedly misrepresented these products as mandatory, and refunds were sometimes not issued for the full amount. The CFPB reported that 118,000 customers encountered obstacles when trying to cancel unwanted services between 2016 and 2021.

CFPB Director Rohit Chopra stated, “Toyota’s lending arm illegally withheld refunds, made borrowers run through obstacle courses to cancel unwanted services, and tarnished their credit reports. Given the growing burdens of auto loan payments on Americans, we will continue to pursue large auto lenders that cheat their customers.”

On the credit front, the CFPB announced that TMCC falsely reported some accounts as delinquent to credit agencies, even though customers had returned lease vehicles. Furthermore, TMCC did not promptly correct these errors, resulting in incorrect data on the credit reports of 27,500 TMC customers, which lowered their credit scores.

Although Toyota admitted no wrongdoing, it agreed to the terms of the settlement. In a statement to Motor1, Toyota said, “Toyota Motor Credit Corporation is committed to doing what’s right for our customers and strives to consistently follow all federal and state laws in our sales, customer service, and administrative practices.”

As part of the settlement, TMCC will pay $48 million to affected customers and a $12 million penalty to the CFPB victims relief fund.

News

Here Are The Safety Benefits Of Solid-State Batteries In EVs

In 2022, there were over 26 million electric vehicles according to the International Energy Agency. This number is set to grow exponentially in the years to come, as the world keeps shifting away from gas-powered vehicles. To pave the way for such events, many parties are working on optimizing EVs and making them more consumer-friendly, partly through the implementation of solid-state batteries (SSBs), which tout the potential to make EVs more efficient, more resilient, and notably safer. Hence, many prominent manufacturers, such as Toyota, Hyundai, Nio, and Nissan are investing enormous amounts of money in them.

In the battery world, safety is a measure of human injury risk, which has been a growing concern with current BEVs over the last few years. Today, most electric vehicles are powered by lithium-ion batteries, which consist of an anode, cathode, and a highly flammable liquid electrolyte. That liquid itself has played a huge role in limiting the range of current EVs and has led to numerous incidents which, although not so common, are significantly more dangerous, and harder to deal with.

On the other hand, SSBs present a few advantages with their solid electrolytes, which are deemed to be less dangerous. However, things are more complicated beneath the surface, so we’ve decided to explain the safety advantages of SSBs over li-ion batteries, while also highlighting the nuances that are often overlooked, by referring to various research papers from different sources.

In order to give you the most up-to-date and accurate information possible, the data used to compile this article was sourced from various manufacturer websites and other authoritative sources, including Reuters, Science Daily, Car and Driver, and Research Gate.

Related: Nissan’s Solid-state Batteries: Everything We Know So Far

In A Way, SSBs Are Safer For Nature And Consumers

a solid-state battery from QuantumScape
QuantumScape via YouTube

Due to their solid nature, solid-state batteries can tolerate higher temperatures, as they generally have a wider operating temperature window, potentially making the occurrence of thermal runaway through cell overheating less likely. This is because they effectively rely on a non-flammable (or rather less flammable) solid-state electrolyte rather than a flammable liquid electrolyte, as is the case with lithium-ion batteries. This, by extension, also makes them more resilient under extreme weather conditions, meaning they don’t limit the range of your electric vehicle when roaming around warm areas.

Due to their resilience, and their unmatched efficiency levels, SSBs are likely to be implemented on large commercial and industrial fleets, particularly on electric semi trucks and larger heavy-duty vehicles. This means that their safety advantages can be more significant, as they would translate into safer work environments, particularly in sensitive factory areas where chemicals and liquids are abundant.

They Have The Potential To Be More Eco-Friendly

In a broader sense, SSBs could also be considered safer for the planet, as they’re touted to reduce the carbon footprint of EVs by 24 percent, and can limit their environmental impact by 39 percent, depending on the sustainability of their raw materials, according to Transport and Environment.

While solid-state batteries do pose some ecological problems of their own, such as their need for 35 percent more lithium and the extra mining that ensues, they do require less graphite and cobalt. The latter has been at the center of several mining malpractices, severe environmental concerns, and issues of unethical labor in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Related: A New Partnership Could Give A Significant Boost To Toyota’s Solid-State Battery Development

Solid-State Batteries Could Be Even Better If They Were Less… Solid!

NIO ES6
NIO

While the chemical composition of current li-ion batteries has posed a number of issues, the subject itself is slightly more nuanced than meets the eye. While SSBs are more promising on paper, there’s a reason you haven’t seen them used in your favorite EVs just yet, and why it might take a few years before you do.

What Do The Scientists Have To Say?

A Sandia National Laboratories-led study, published in the scientific journal Joule, addressed the prevalent belief that liquid electrolytes would be detrimental to SSBs, and that their absence is better for safety. The study, which evaluated the safety of ASSBs, SSBs, and lithium-ion batteries through various scenarios, found out that a solid electrolyte can still fail under certain conditions, such as when the battery is crushed, perforated, or submitted to built-up pressure, which in turn causes a reaction between internal oxygen and lithium.

“One of the promises of solid-state batteries is that they are safe because the solid electrolyte is firm and unlikely to break. But if it does break, the temperature rise could be about as much as when lithium-ion batteries fail,” said Yulia Preger, Sandia reliability expert on the project, during an interview with Science Daily

Turns Out SSBs Just Need More Liquid

The research team also found out that solid-state cells are also prone to high interfacial resistance between solid-electrolytes and active cathode materials. Their final conclusion was that solid-state batteries would perform much closer to commercial standards with a partly liquid electrolyte, even when safety is considered.

“Having the clarity and the confidence that knowing a small amount of liquid electrolyte will not create huge safety issues may help the development of commercial solid-state batteries. Adding liquid electrolytes could fix one of their main problems, the solid electrolyte interface.” added Loraine Torres-Castro, who also participated in the project.

Related: How Solid-state Batteries Differ From Traditional Lithium-ion Batteries

EVs Aren’t As Prone To Combustion As They Are Made To Be

Chevy Bolt EV side view
Chevrolet

It is important to detail a few things about the risk of fire incidents regarding electric vehicles and lithium-ion batteries. First things first, it is not as common as you might believe. In the U.S., unfortunately, no government agency categorizes fires by drivetrain, so we have no way of pinpointing the percentage of EV-related fire incidents at a local level. However, we do have a diverse amount of data stretching across different countries to work with.

In Europe, The Statistics Reveal EVs Are Safer On Average

The Swedish authorities, for instance, kept track via the Myndigheten for Samhällsskydd och Beredskap (Authority for Social Protection and Preparedness.) and released a report in April 2023 detailing the number of EV fires in Sweden between 2018 and 2022.

The document indicates that only 16 BEVs catch fire in Sweden every year, while the country records an average of 3,400 passenger vehicle fires every year. Electric vehicles (hybrids included) thus only account for 0.4 percent of all fire incidents in Sweden, where they are abundantly rampant and reached a 60 percent market share in August 2023.

The Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service cites only 54 electric vehicle fires for 2019, compared to 1898 incidents stemming from ICE-vehicles. Even after significantly increasing in numbers, EVs in the UK only accounted for 239 fires from July 2022 to June 2023 according to Honeywell Safety and Productivity Solutions. This was despite hitting their peak market share in 2022.

Electric vehicles (and lithium-ion batteries) are thus not the ticking time bombs that you might think, and are in fact less prone to disaster than the headlines might suggest. However, they do pose a particular set of risks.

Related: How Toyota’s 745-mile Solid-State Batteries Differ From Lithium-ion Batteries

However, Lithium-Ion Batteries Cause More Damaging Fires

Although the risk of EV fire has been misconstrued and blown out of proportion, it remains nonetheless a serious cause for concern. To put it simply, while electric vehicles don’t burn as often as people might think, their fire incidents can be significantly more disastrous than those of gas-powered vehicles. More precisely, lithium-ion battery fires can burn up to 1,000 degrees (F) hotter than an internal combustion engine.

This often results in more catastrophic scenarios that are harder to deal with for first-responders, who may not yet have received the specific training needed to handle them. Yet training isn’t everything. EV fires are also harder to extinguish, and often call for extreme measures. The most common approach taken is to use huge quantities of water to cool the highly flammable battery packs, combined with a fire blanket to suppress the flames.

EV Fires Pose Specific Set Of Difficulties

ToyotaUk

Toyota Mississippi Puts High School Students to Work

 $1.9 million investment brings 4T Academy to local schools

BLUE SPRINGS, Miss. (Nov. 1, 2023) – Juniors and seniors at New Albany and Union County Schools will soon have a unique opportunity to learn and earn. Toyota announced Wednesday—in collaboration with local partners—the investment and launch of its 4T Academy, a hands-on training program designed to place students directly into Toyota production jobs right out of high school.

Toyota’s commitment of $1.9 million to implement this game-changing program is match funding following a grant awarded to New Albany School District and the 4T Academy from the Appalachian Regional Commission.

The announcement was made Wednesday at the automaker’s Workforce Readiness Forum where lawmakers, community leaders, and educators convened to address common issues and goals surrounding talent development, retention, and educational support.

“The 4T Academy will provide our students the skills, experience, and confidence they need to move into high-wage careers in manufacturing right here in their backyard,” said Erik Skaggs, president of Toyota Mississippi. “Imbedding innovative programs like 4T in our schools changes the landscape of workforce readiness and puts students in the driver’s seat for their careers.”

Students enrolled in 4T will follow a state-approved curriculum pathway in traditional high school classes while learning and training in a mock factory environment to gain essential skills needed for production jobs at Toyota. This state-of-the-art classroom will be housed at New Albany School District’s (NASD) future “New Albany Center for Innovation”—an enhanced version of its current School of Career & Technical Education.

The 4T Academy will have a collaborative classroom space, electric and pneumatic tool-training stations, a simulated vehicle production line, virtual reality simulators, cobots, and many other high-tech components—all integral to developing talent while still in high school. Seniors enrolled in 4T will earn an hourly wage while on the production floor, getting certified and working alongside industry experts to build the world’s best-selling vehicle, the Toyota Corolla.

“We are excited to work with Toyota Mississippi to implement the first 4T Academy in Mississippi,” said Lance Evans, superintendent for New Albany School District. “As a result of this partnership, our students will be afforded opportunities that are very unique to our region. When schools and industry partner together, the results are meaningful to not only students and schools but also families and our community.”

Toyota also announced a gift of $100,000 to support the Center for Innovation as it undergoes renovation.

Toyota’s 4T Academy started at Toyota Indiana in 2020 while partnering with Purdue IN-MaC—a partnership that has continued through its expansion to Toyota West Virginia in 2022, and plans to launch at other Toyota manufacturing facilities in the U.S. are underway. For more information on 4T, visit www.4TAcademy.com